Britain considering change to royal succession rule

LONDON — Britain's government said Saturday it is reviewing the ancient, discriminatory rules of royal succession, so that if Prince William and Kate Middleton's first child is a baby girl she would eventually become queen.

The rule that puts boys ahead of their sisters "would strike most people as a little old-fashioned," Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said. It is just two weeks until the prince and Middleton get married, and Clegg said many people may agree that the rules should be changed so that if the couple's first child were a girl, she would eventually inherit the throne — even if she had a younger brother.

The Cabinet Office said the government accepts that some aspects of the succession rule "could be discriminatory." It said the government has started discussions with British Commonwealth nations that would be directly affected by any change because they recognize the British monarch as their head of state.

William is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles, who is Queen Elizabeth II's first-born child. Charles' sister Anne is lower in the line of succession than her younger brothers Andrew and Edward.